RESOLVED: issues with resetting TMPS
 

I installed my winter wheels on my car a few weeks ago and forgot to check the tire pressure (sounds stupid, i know).
Anyways, visually tires looked fine, and i was driving like that for a few weeks but a couple of days ago it got a bit colder (-10C) and a TPMS warning light came on... i checked the tire pressure and all four tires where down to 25 PSI (at +1C) so i inflated all four tires to 32 PSI (as per spec for 255/55/r18 tires), reset my TMPS sensor by pressing the button on the dashboard for about 3-5 sec. started driving and the light stayed on even after driving for 3 km...
From what i understand our cars are not equipped with TMPS sensors and the computer just measures the wheel rolling speed to determine if the tires are properly inflated, so what might be causing the light to stay on even after i tried resetting it?

Try doing it again on first start. Press and hold until the light comes on, then go driving. If it doesn't turn off after a km or two, you likely have some crud built up between the sensors and the rings. Find a lonely wide open spot and test the abs (slippery conditions help keep the speeds down). If the ABS is working, then something else is going on…something I can't think of right now. Check for codes and see if there's something stored there.

Hope this helps.

NA spec'd cars have the ABS based TPMS, which is added firmware feature of the ABS. Overseas models (pre-facelift for sure, facelift - i am not so sure) had the RDC system with actual radio transmitters inside the wheels, antennae in the wheel wells, a special module... far more superior system, but costly, and prone to false alarms...

in your case, it is TPMS (the central console has a button with a flat tire symbol and not RDC letters) - try to reset it when you get into the car with a cold start (after the car was asleep, and you do a first engine start for the day...
if this does not work, let us know, we will dig deeper...

The light is actually on as soon as i turn on the car...

I will try to test ABS tomorrow morning, i think they worked fined today...

I will try to reset the TMPS tomorrow on a cold start - i tried turning off the car, starting it and resetting TPMS today but i did not wait for too long after i shut off the vehicle... will let it sit overnight and try tomorrow...

Will report back

I believe you have to hold the button longer than 3-5 seconds to reset.

Ditto on the cold start (see the very last paragraph & 2.1.4 Status adaptation process in BMW doc below). The face-lift models (in the USA) have the FTM/RPA system...which is different than the TPS/RDC system that was mentioned above:

http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...20E53%20X5.jpg

Here's a chart that details which BMWs have which tire pressure monitoring system: Direct or Indirect systems


http://bimmerboard.com/members/q/ori...0System%20.jpg

a quick update. Checked the tire pressure this morning and it was fine. THe light was still on the dashboard after i started the car. I pressed the button for longer than 5 seconds as suggested (i think around 7 sec) and seemed to do the trick. No more light on a dashboard… not sure what fixed it - cold start or holding the reset button longer or both… but it is fixed now

:thumbup:

Hi, I know you have solved it, but the simple answer is you hold the button until the light turns off.

I have swapped tyres and it has taken 15KM before the flat tyre light came on. I was stopped at traffic lights, pressed the button until the light went off, and kept driving. didn't have to be from a cold start.